1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with a tire work device designed to permit ready mounting and inflation of rimless tires so as to permit rapid, accurate tire diameter measurement and/or tread inspection. More particularly, the invention is concerned with such a tire work device, and corresponding methods, wherein the device includes a tire support in the form of a pair of opposed, relatively movable tire mounts, with an inflator for inflating a tire mounted thereon and a stop associated with the tire support for limiting the expansion of a tire during inflation thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The performance of racing automobiles on banked tracks is often improved by xe2x80x9cstaggeringxe2x80x9d the inside tires as compared with the outside tires. Thus, in some cases it is desirable to inflate the inside tires so that they have an effective diameter somewhat less (e.g., one inch) than the diameter of the outside tires. The tire stagger thus accommodates banked tracks, leading to higher race car speeds and better handling characteristics.
In the past, the methods used to achieve proper tire stagger have been both straight forward and crude, and generally comprised simply deflating the inside tires relative to the outside tires, so as to obtain a measure of stagger. Stagger gauges have been provided in the past, but these lack accuracy and can be difficult to use after a tire is mounted on an automobile. It will be appreciated though, that such ad hoc techniques do not lend themselves to accurate tire stagger. For example, there is no way to accurately determine whether the stagger between the front tires is the same as that for the rear tires. Moreover, given that tires are often changed during the course of a race, this being done as fast as possible to conserve time, there is no way to effectively maintain consistent tire stagger after such tire changes.
In addition to the problem of providing quick and accurate tire stagger determinations, high performance race car tires need to be carefully inspected, both when new and after use thereof. Such tires are expensive items, and many racing organizations reuse tires after a race for practice runs and the like. However, in order to assure that the tires are not damaged or otherwise unsafe, it is necessary to very closely inspect the tires for tread wear and separation, in related tire problems. In the past, such an inspection procedure has been somewhat tedious, owing to the lack of any effective mounting device which can be rapidly set up and used.
The present invention overcomes the problems outlined above and provides an improved tire work device for automotive tires, and especially high performance racing tires. Broadly speaking, the device of the invention includes a tire support comprising a pair of opposed tire mounts each adapted to engage a respective tire sidewall inner periphery for mounting of the tire between the supports; at least one of the mounts is movable relative to the other for altering the distance therebetween to thus allow the support to accommodate tires of different widths. An inflator is also provided for inflating a tire mounted on the tire support, as well as a stop associated with the support for preventing the separation of the tire mounts beyond a predetermined maximum, upon inflation of the mounted tire.
In preferred forms, the device includes an upright standard which supports the opposed tire mounts. The lower support is gravitationally located on the standard and is essentially fixed during use of the device. The upper support is slidably mounted on the standard and moves upwardly thereon during inflation of the tire. However, the preferred stop, which is in the form of a tubular body slid over the upper segment of the standard and serving as an abutment, limits the degree of upper movement of the upper mount during tire inflation. The stop is advantageously provided with a locking member allowing it to be positioned at any one of a number of locations on the standard, corresponding to different effective tire diameters (e.g., from 8 to 18 inches in diameter).
The standard is also preferably provided with an axial passageway extending from the lower end of the standard to a point between the upper and lower mounts. A pneumatic hose equipped with a foot-operated valve is coupled with the passageway to permit selective inflation of a mounted tire. In order to prevent any dangerous overpressure conditions, one or more relief valves are provided with the tire mounts; xe2x80x9cglow in the darkxe2x80x9d pressure gauges are also used so that the operator may know tire pressure at all times.
The lightweight design (about 20 pounds) of the tire work device permits it to be set up and taken down within about one minute. Moreover, during use a tire may be readily rotated during diameter measurements or inspections. A dump valve associated with the support also permits rapid deflation of a mounted tire to further speed use of the device.